Active Server Pages: General FAQ
General Questions
 What is ASP?
ASP or Active Server Pages is a server-side framework that lets users create web
applications. Read an article on the subject here.
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What scripting language do I use with ASP? Do I have to
know VBScript to program in ASP?
ASP is a framework that allows a host of server scripting languages. A few of these
include
- VBScript
- JavaScript/JScript
- PerlScript
Knowledge of VBScript is not required.
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Which is easier to
learn, VBScript or JavaScript? How do I decide which one to learn?
Depends on who you ask. If you have Visual Basic programming experience, VBScript
is easier to pick up. On the other hand, a Java programmer will find learning JavaScript
easier.
Several factors before you choose a scripting language:
- VBScript is similar to Visual Basic language. So, if you are familiar with VB, VBScript
is easier to pick up. Also VBScript has good error handling capabilities, while JavaScript
(currently) has none. So, if you are developing a lot of database applications, VBScript
maybe the way to go.
- JavaScript is more universal client-side scripting language than VBScript. If you are
using a lot of client-side validations etc., JavaScript maybe better as you have to learn
just one language for both server and client side.
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How do I install ASP? How do I obtain the software?
ASP is a part of Windows NT Option Pack from Microsoft. Among other things, the Option
Pack contains a web server (IIS or PWS), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) and Microsoft
Transaction Server (MTS). Download the option pack and install it on your computer.
You can dowload the Option Pack from http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/downloads/recommended/NT4OptPk/default.asp
The option pack is also available with Visual Studio. The option
pack is a free download, so ASP costs you nothing!
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What editors are available to create ASP pages?
Several editors are available, and many of these are more than just editors - they are
development environments. Here are our thoughts on these:
- Visual Interdev 6, Microsoft: Probably the best development tool for
ASP. You can create database projects easily. The Design Time Controls (DTCs) make life
easier by encapsulating a lot of code. An important feature, intellisense, lets you see
the arguments methods take, the properties and methods of a COM object and so on. Highly
recommended for serious ASP developers.
- Drumbeat, Elemental Software: This is a layman's Visual Interdev. The
tool keeps the code hidden so you can worry about the user interface. Recommended for
everyone, especially non-programmers.
- HomeSite 4, Allaire: This isn't a development environment but an
editor. This great editor for HTML, ASP and CFML also has an IDE that lets you create in
design mode or HTML mode and preview your pages right within the tool.
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On what operating systems does ASP run?
Good question! The "native" operating system for ASP is the Windows (95, 98,
NT). The option pack you download from Microsoft can be installed on Windows only.
However, there are third-party tools/add-ons that enable us to
run ASP on non-Windows platforms too. Two of such software are:
- Chili!ASP from Chili!Soft
- iASP from Halcyonsoft
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